MCM: David Tennant

On this day in 1971, our dear Tenth Doctor, David Tennant was born! (Trivia moment: He was born David McDonald and chose the surname “Tennant” from the Pet Shop Boys singer. Yay for ’80s New Wave tie-in!) Of course, he’s not just Doctor Who, oh no. This utterly charming Scots lad had a long acting career before and after his Whovian turn, as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and in plenty of TV shows and movies.

I’d started this post with the idea of reviewing various of David Tennent’s works, but as soon as I started collecting images, I fell down a Pinterest-Tumbler-Google rabbithole of delicious red-velvet mancake with David Tennant filling. So I’m just going to layer on all the photos I found of Mr. Yummy McTennant in historical costume roles, and you can enjoy this tasty treat. I did have to restrict photos to historical movies and TV shows, so no Doctor Who (except where noted) and no Harry Potter, Gracepoint, or Jessica Jones. But I had to include some of his theater work because a) it’s historical and b) hello, David Tennant!

The Doctor travels through time, but rarely blends in with the historical period. One exception is this two-part episode set in 1913 where the Doctor essentially goes undercover as a teacher at an English boys school.

Hot for teacher!

Sweet dreams.

Einstein and Eddington (2008) – Arthur Eddington

In this TV movie, David Tennant portrays British scientist Sir Arthur Eddington, who worked closely with Albert Einstein circa 1914. Wibbley-wobbley timey-wimey for reals.

Science, bitches!

Totes adorbs.

Love’s Labors Lost (2008) – Berowne

There’s no film of this production AFAIK, but let’s just admire these images of David Tennant in a fancy slashed doublet.

Just a small role in a 1939 thriller about aristocratic Nazi sympathizers, his character is one of the few warning about the impending war.

Much Ado About Nothing (2011) – Benedick

While I usually wouldn’t count something set as recent as the 1980s as “historical,” lookit how cute he is!

Spies of Warsaw (2013) – Jean-François Mercier

In this two-part spy thriller set in 1930s Poland, David Tennant portrays a decorated First World War hero juggling diplomatic duties with information-trafficking. I don’t care which side he’s on, he looks mighty fine.

So scruffy!

*bites fist*

Richard II (2013) – Richard II

A film of the Royal Shakespeare Company version with a fairly traditional “stage” medieval look, right down to David Tennant’s long hair. Sexah!

About the author

A self-described ElderGoth, Trystan has been haunting the internet since the early 1990s. Always passionate about costume, from everyday office wear to outrageous twisted historical creations, she has maintained some of the earliest online costuming-focused resources on the web. Her costuming adventures are chronicled on her website, TrystanCraft. She also ran a popular fashion blog, This Is CorpGoth, dedicated to her “office drag.”

There’s some interview Peter Davison gave in which he joked about the “confusion” at the Tennant/Moffett wedding when the Doctor’s daughter’s husband’s previous incarnation had to give a father-of-the-bride speech.